Admission Arrangements for 2018-2019

Admissions Authority

Hollingworth Academy is an 11-16 secondary school under the trusteeship of the Hollingworth Academy Trust.

As an Academy, the Academy Trust is the Admissions Authority and is responsible for taking decisions on applications for admissions.

The co-ordination of admissions arrangements is undertaken by the Local Authority as in any Admission Appeal.

Published Admissions Number (PAN)

The Governing Body has set its admissions number at 270.

Transition to Secondary School from Primary Schools

A 'Transferring to Secondary School' booklet is published by the Local Authority, giving details of the Local Authority's co-ordinated admissions arrangements. This is available from Local Authority offices, on the Rochdale Council website and on request from the Local Authority directly.

In the Autumn term 2017, parents/carers of children in Year 6 in the Borough's primary schools should have received a letter reminding them that it was time to apply for a secondary place.

All initial correspondence and any reminders of the deadline for applications will have been sent via the child's primary school. Parents/carers should, therefore, ensure that the contact details held by the primary school are up-to-date.

Parents/carers must complete a common application form or apply online, expressing up to four preferences for secondary school admission, and return this to the School Admissions Team at the Local Authority.

The closing date for all applications for September 2018 admission is 31 October 2017.

Parents/carers can request an application form by contacting the Local Authority directly. Alternatively, applications can be made online or by downloading an application form from the Rochdale Council website www.rochdale.gov.uk.

Parents/carers should ensure that all relevant information is included on the application form.

Late applications or applications which are missing key information, such as a child having a sibling already attending our school, will affect the child's position on the admissions list and may result in him/her missing out on a place.

All applicants will be considered at the same time after the closing date for admissions and in a fair way based on the PAN (Published Admission Number), the published admissions criteria and the information that is returned on the application form.

Parents/carers will be informed of the Governors' decision to offer a place by Rochdale Local Authority at the beginning of March 2018.

In-Year Transfers between Secondary Schools

Parents/Carers who would like their child to transfer to Hollingworth Academy from another secondary school must complete an In-Year Transfer Application Form and return this to the School Admissions Team at Rochdale Local Authority.

If places are available, children qualifying under the published admissions criteria will be admitted.

If there are more applicants than places available, then the published oversubscription criteria will be applied.

Admissions Criteria

The Admissions Policy for 2018/19 is as follows:

The Governing Body will consider all applications for admission on an equal basis, with the following set of Admissions/Oversubscription Criteria forming a priority order where there are more applications for admissions than the school has places available:

CHILDREN WITH STATEMENTS of Special Educational Needs or Educational Health and Care Plans:

Where pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) the Hollingworth Trust has a statutory duty to admit those pupils. This means that children with such as Statement or EHCP will be allocated a place before any other places are allocated.

CHILDREN IN CARE TO A LOCAL AUTHORITY (Looked-After Children):

Children who are in public care ("looked after" children as defined by Section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989), or children who were previously looked after but ceased to be so because they became adopted or became subject to a residence or special guardianship order.

CHILDREN WITH EXCEPTIONAL MEDICAL NEEDS OR EXCEPTIONAL WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS WHICH ARE DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO HOLLINGWORTH ACADEMY:

Exceptional medical needs must be supported at the same time of application by a letter from a GP, hospital consultant or other medical professional indicating how a pupil's medical condition relates to the preference for Hollingworth Academy.

Exceptional Welfare consideration (such as children at risk) must be supported at the same time of the application by a letter from a supporting agency (e.g. Social Worker, Family Support Worker) indicating how the circumstances relate to Hollingworth Academy.

CHILDREN WITH AN OLDER SIBLING ATTENDING HOLLINGWORTH ACADEMY AT THE TIME OF ADMISSION:

A sibling is defined as a brother or sister, or step-brother or step-sister living at the same address as the child for whom the application is being made and who are in attendance at the school at the start of the academic year for which admission is being sought. Sibling priority will not be given where the brother/sister or step-brother or step-sister lives at a different address to the child for whom the application is being made. No sibling priority is given to cousins, regardless of their address.

You may only claim this priority if your child has an older sibling who will be in attendance at the school in September 2018.

CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR THE SERVICE PREMIUM:

Children eligible for admission under this priority are those where:

one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces;

one of their parents served in the regular armed forces in the last 3 years;

one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil is in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS).

CHILDREN OF STAFF AT THE SCHOOL:

It is anticipated that this will account for a very small number of places offered and will be reviewed annually by the Governing Body.

Where the member of staff must have been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission is made, and/or

The member of staff is required to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

OTHER CHILDREN:

If applications for the school are in excess of the number of places available the Governors will apply the above criteria, to decide which children should be admitted/offered places. In the event of oversubscription in any of the above categories, applicants living nearest to the school will be given priority. Distance will be measured using the shortest walking route from the front door of the child's home address (including flats) to the front gates of the Academy, using GPS coordinates of the property from the Ordnance Survey AddressBase database.

Shortest walking distances are calculated using the address supplied on your Local Authority admission form which must be the child's permanent place of residence. No other address will be used in this calculation. From the provided address we obtain the GPS coordinates of the property from the Ordnance Survey AddressBase database. Using these coordinates we obtain the distance of the shortest walking route to the front gates of the Academy to 3 decimal places using Google Maps APL. If for any reason there is a significant difference in the distance between your properties GPS coordinates and the Google Maps start point, then the Academy will check the reason for this discrepancy and deal with it accordingly and fairly. The Academy does not recognise any cut through or shortcut not mapped by Google Maps.

It is the responsibility of all applicants to state clearly any specific details which relate to any of the above admission criteria. The information should be included on the application form which should be fully completed before submission.

Children living in other authorities must apply to their own Council and name Hollingworth Academy, Rochdale.

UNDER THE SCHOOLS ADMISSIONS CODE ALL ADMISSIONS AUTHORITIES ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE AN 'EQUAL RANKING' PREFERENCE SYSTEM.

Tie-Break

If in any category there are more applications than places available, priority will be given on the basis of distance from home to school with those living nearer to the school having priority.

Distance will be measured using the Local Authority's computerised measuring system.

If the distance is the same for two or more applicants for the last place/s to be allocated, a random lottery will be carried out in a public place.

Year 7 Admissions Waiting List

If there are more applications than places available, a waiting list will be maintained. Waiting lists will be ranked according to the relevant admissions/oversubscription criteria. Parents/carers will be notified if a vacancy arises. The Year 7 admissions waiting list will not be maintained beyond the end of the Autumn term (31 December) of the admission year.

The Right of Appeal

If an application for admission or an In-year transfer request has been turned down by the Governing Body, parents/carers can appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. This appeal must be made in writing to Rochdale Local Authority Legal Services Team within 20 school days of notification of refusal. The date of notification of the appeal date will be shared with you and a decision following the appeal should be advised within two working days after posting by first class post.

The decision of the appeals panel is binding on all parties.

Admissions and Appeals Information

The following forms and documents are available from the School Admissions Team at Rochdale Local Authority:

Secondary School Application Form

In-Year Transfer Form

Secondary School Appeal Form

Secondary Allocation and Appeal Procedure

School Admission Appeal Timetable

Further Information Contact Details:

RMBC School Admissions Team
Number One Riverside
Smith Street
Rochdale
OL16 1XU

Notes

Shared Parenting

Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the child's "permanent place of residence" will be determined as the address of the parent who normally has responsibility for the majority of school days in a week.

Admission into a Different Year Group

There may be exceptional circumstances where admission into a different year group may be advised or considered (gifted and talented children, for example, or those who have experienced problems or missed part of a year, for example due to ill health). The Governors' Admissions Committee will make a decision based on the circumstances of each case. Parents/carers of children refused a place at the school have a statutory right of appeal, but this does not apply if parents are offered a place other than in the year group for which they applied.

Notification in writing to Associated Primary School, all own admission authority schools in the borough, The Local Authority and neighbouring Authorities.

Please note that the 2018/19 policy reflects a change in Hollingworth Academy Admissions Policy. Consultation on these changes commenced on Monday 12th December until Monday 23rd January 2017. Full copies of the proposals were on the school website with the contact information for responses.

Hollingworth Academy Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 8314692.The registered office is at Cornfield Street, Milnrow, Rochdale, Lancashire OL16 3DR.